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Beginner's Guide to Photography
Taking good photos does not depend on having a fabulously expensive camera; these tips can help you take great photos. Here are some hints. There is a podcast that that covers this stuff in exhaustive detail: http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com. Tell a story If you look at the front page of most newspapers, you'll see a large colour image. This image tells a story. Often it's all there is to the story -- the image and its caption are the whole thing. So, how do they do it? Subject Try to get subjects in the frame that relate to each other. Pick a subject, and take lots of photos of that subject. For example, try portraits. Shoot nothing but portraits for a week. Then try to analyse what's going on in your photos. You'll find that a portrait is stronger if it includes something to do with the person being photographed. A photo of me, for instance, on my Powerbook (Mac laptop computer). Composition Rule of thirds See how the boat in this picture is at the top of the picture, accentuating the anchor? The bottom of the boat is about a third (perhaps a bit less) from the top of the frame. The anchor is about a third from the bottom of the frame. This "rule of thirds" is a useful tip to help you get started on composition. The image, divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically, will create a grid. Try to line the subject of your photo on this grid, especially where the lines would cross (many cameras have the option of showing this grid while shooting). You will find that when the subjects of the photo are in the intersections or along the lines, the composition will be much more interesting than if you just cut it in half.. Space Give your subject a bit of space around it. The guidelines here are: # Allow the subject to look or move into an empty space. Try cropping a picture of a car traveling in two ways: one with the car moving into empty road, and another with the front of the car jammed against the frame and a lot of empty road behind it. Which do you prefer? # Crop really really tight. Instead of allowing a portrait to breathe, for example, just crop the photo so that only the eyes, nose and mouth are visible -- not even the hair or ears or chin. Which is the more effective photo? Watch for busy backgrounds Throw them out of focus or move your own point of view so that the background is no longer distracting. Do this in your camera via the aperture setting control. Choose a large aperture, f2.8 for instance to blur the background. If you don't have such a wide setting on the lens, work with what you do have, eg f3.5 or f4 etc. Longer focal length lenses such as a 70-200mm zoom works best for blurring backgrounds. Leading the eye Lines in a picture should lead the eye into the picture. Using the above boat picture as an example, the eye will find the anchor as a focal point then follow the chain to the box of the boat. From there, the eye will follow the line of the bow up and out of the frame. A more pleasing composition could have had the anchor chain leading toward the center of the image rather than toward the left side. Placing a vertical line, such as a dock piling, on the left side of the image would stop the eye from wandering out of the frame. This same concept applies to when you begin to show multiple photos at a time. Arrange your photos so that they flow into each other. Lets consider placing a portrait next to the above boat picture. Consider where the person in the portrait is looking. For example, if they are looking towards the upper left, then place the boat picture to the upper left of the first. When a person views the photos, their eye will automatically follow the line from the portraits eyes to the anchor, to the chain, and finally to the boat. Identify a Viewpoint A viewpoint is a vantage point from where you take your photo. A viewpoint makes the difference between a good photo and a poorly taken photo. When you choose a good viewpoint, you are able to focus on the subject of your photo well and affect the story a photo carries. Besides shooting from eye level, you can shoot from high above, from the side, back, or ground level. Light Photographs are actually pictures of how light hits surfaces. If you can start seeing the light and shadows, you will start improving your photographs. To start with you can assume without risk that the diffused and even light will be better on the subject rather then the harsh straight flash or a sunlight. This is true only till you mature to handle these lights While there are various light sources you can use : - Flash (Direct & reflected) While try using flash gun which can point roof while you click. - Sunlight (Direct & reflected) - Window with or without curtain (My favorite) - Some photos on Cloudy day would come great External links *ProsPhotos.com - Photography Websites * Trick Photography and Special Effects by Evan Sharboneau a very popular instructional eBook that explains how to do most of the trick photos that often capture attention and amazement from viewers. *Risks connected with hidden data in JPEG files *Innovative use of flash *How to take better pictures with your digital camera * Interested here in photography * Photography For Beginners from PhotographerTouch.com